Surreal
by NewHampshireGirl
Summary: Life had a funny way of giving you everything you wanted but then reminding you that in a second it could all be taken away. Set in the "Unconditionally" verse, Tony/OC, additional warnings posted inside. Tag of sorts to "Family First".
1. Loss

**Disclaimers:** I do not own NCIS or its characters, just playing in the sandbox.

 **Warnings:** SPOILERS for "Family First", S13 in general, past Tiva references

 **A/N:** I didn't think for one second I was going to be writing anything about Tony's exit into this verse, but I couldn't leave this alone. This verse has always been born from canon and it's the one that I've kept aligned the closest to what we see on the show. I hope you enjoy!

* * *

 **Surreal**

Life had a funny way of giving you everything you wanted but then reminding you that in a second it could all be taken away.

Anthony DiNozzo had felt as if he was living in a surreal world since news broke about Ziva's farmhouse, a surreal world when they learned a survivor had been pulled from the ashes...

Tony had been handed everything he'd ever wanted; love, happiness, a family. He had been handed it because Ziva recognized she couldn't give that to him. It never would have been reached if she had stayed. They would have continued to hurt one another and bring the other down because logically, they just couldn't be together. And the woman who he'd found was standing in their bedroom, supporting his decision to go to Israel and find Ziva and make sure she was brought back to Washington safe.

"I shouldn't be gone long," Tony said, shoving some clothes in his duffle bag. "And I'll call you from Israel."

"Do you think she's dead?" Leah asked, softly. Jack, resting on her hip, gurgled.

Tony shook his head. "No, the news reported that a survivor was pulled from the wreckage. She was always a fighter, a survivor. Gibbs wants me to find her, bring her back to D.C, and make sure Kort doesn't get to her. Speaking of Kort… if he shows up here… you know where the gun is and you know how to use it. Put a bullet between his eyes if he threatens you."

Leah had horrible flashbacks to killing Wayne in their bedroom back at their apartment. She wasn't sure she could pull that trigger again and it bothered her how easily Tony had just brushed off someone's life. Ok, sure, he was a rogue CIA spy… but still… "I haven't been practicing… my aim is probably off."

He zipped the bag up and tossed it over his shoulder. "Well, unless you have Eli David's personal files… Kort won't be coming after you. If you're uncomfortable… Tim said you could stay with him and Delilah for a few days if you want."

She nodded and chewed on the inside of her cheek. To be honest, she was scared for Tony. No one knew what he was going to find in Israel. His mental health was already in question after the past year… seeing the charred remains of his former lover… well… Leah could see it pushing him over the edge. "Tony…."

"That's my ride," Tony said when the doorbell rang. He kissed her, kissed Jack, and dashed down the stairs just as the doorbell rang again.

"You're getting formula tonight, Jack," Leah whispered as she followed her husband downstairs. "Mommy needs a large glass of wine."

Jack grinned. He was impervious to the world around him, to things crashing down, to being rebuilt, to crashing down again.

Leah wanted that ability, she realized. As she reached the last step she caught sight of Abby, heard Tim's voice asking Tony to sit down for a second.

Tony was frustrated. "I have a flight to catch, Tim."

"No… you don't," Tim said, painfully. "Tony… I'm sorry. Ziva wasn't the survivor."

* * *

He was gone. Tony had disappeared about thirty minutes after Tim and Abby returned to NCIS.

She discovered it after putting Jack down for the night. Leah immediately panicked. She had seen Tony's pure rage before… he was filled with rage and grief and there was no telling what he would do. Leah hated that she had Tim track her husband's phone, hated that she had to call Senior in the middle of the night to stay with Jack and hated that she had to drive to NCIS to drag Tony back. _This shouldn't be happening. Gibbs should have sent_ someone _to warn Ziva..._ and now, because of Gibbs' lapse of judgment, Leah was the one who had to sweep in and clean up the mess her husband was...

Dragging was going to be the crucial word in all this, because judging by the venom Tony was spitting at Gibbs when she arrived, she might very well have to drag him home. "Anthony?"

"What?" Tony snapped, darkly, turning tear filled eyes on her.

"Come home," Leah pleaded. "Please."

"No," he said, his jaw clenching as he tried to hold it in. "I have a killer to end."

Leah blinked, rapidly. "You're not thinking clearly," she whimpered, trying to hold herself together for him. He needed that from her, whether he was aware of that or not. "And when you don't think clearly you do stupid things."

Tony glared at her and balled his fists up. "I am thinking clearly. That man murdered Ziva—my partner—my friend! I'm not going to sit here and let him get away with it! If you don't like that answer then leave!"

She couldn't hold herself together anymore. "I can't lose you!" Leah screamed, tears running down her cheeks. "I almost lost you in February! If you go after Ziva's killer and I lose you, Anthony, I just… I won't survive it! Please… please… just come home!"

He suddenly snapped back to reality; his green eyes burned with tears, and Tony relented. "Where's Jack?" he asked in a whisper.

"With your dad," she answered just as softly.

"Why didn't you just send my dad here?"

"Would you have listened to your father?"

Tony shook his head.

Leah glanced, timidly at Gibbs.

"Go on, DiNozzo. Go home. Clear your head," the team leader said. "I promise we're getting Kort."

Tony grabbed his bag and headed towards the elevator. Leah hesitated for a second and then asked the former marine, "Who was the survivor?"

Gibbs shrugged. He had a phone call into Mossad but so far no one had answered. "My guess… boyfriend…friend….I won't know more until I get the reports back."

Leah nodded and turned to go.

"He needs some TLC right now, Leah," Gibbs said to her, stopping her. "Give him that."

"Promise, I'll take care of him, Gibbs," Leah said as she left.

Carefully she stepped inside the elevator. Tony was slumped against the wall, head bowed, obviously not aware that there had been a conversation about him just a few feet away. Leah reached out and pressed the button for the garage.

Tony still didn't move or look at her until the elevator came to life. "I don't know what I would have done if it had been you in that fire…"

Leah froze. Was he really this angry because deep down he thought it might have been _her_ Kort went after? She would never deny the relationship between Tony and Ziva, and she put herself in his position if she had been the one to find out about a past lover that she never really quite let go of. "Do you think getting Kort is the only way to keep me safe?"

He raised his eyes to look at her. "Kort will lie and say it was nothing personal… but it was… it was personal the moment he blew up that farmhouse. He hit us where… it would hurt the most. And if that doesn't get what he wants… he'll go for the next blow—you, Delilah… Breena and Victoria… the man doesn't regard any life."

She stepped closer to him. "It wasn't me in that fire, and it wasn't Delilah. I know it hurts and she deserved better… she left to get away from this kind of life... but you can honor her now by getting the son of a bitch and putting him jail."

"Not Gibbs style," Tony scoffed.

"Yeah… I know," Leah sighed.

Tony went back to brooding. Leah quietly stood there, waiting for some kind of signal. It never really came. He suddenly and aggressively pushed off the wall and stopped the elevator to grasp her into his arms roughly.

Leah closed her eyes and buried her face against him. They had been through some challenges in the short marriage, however, she was pretty sure this was going to be their toughest one yet. It was probably going to remain to be seen whether they survived it or not. This year had been a roller coaster… trauma, death, injuries… it never seemed to stop. Perhaps, she shouldn't have stopped Tony from writing that resignation letter all those months ago — perhaps it would have been best for their family if he had left NCIS behind for good.

* * *

 _Now is the survivor Tali? Does Tony leave NCIS? Just forget everything else I've written up until this point lol_


	2. Family

**Warnings:** Spoilers for "Family First", implied/referenced past Tiva

 **A/N:** I don't know how many parts this will be. It originally was a two-shot, but well, the muse has taken me elsewhere. **Thank you for the reviews, favorites and follows.**

* * *

Jack was up early because frankly the world was just cruel, and the nine month old was not aware that his parents had been up half the night.

His blue eyes were shining, his teeth were bared in a wide grin, and his greeting of "Dada!" joyful as Tony stumbled into the nursery.

Tony stared at his son for a long moment—the happy, innocent little being that he was. His heart constricted. Ziva had let him go so he could have all this. _It's too bad she didn't get the same._ Eyes blurred with fresh tears, Tony went to lift Jack out of the crib. He hugged his son tightly, kissed his cheeks and whispered, "I love you, buddy."

"Dada, dada, dada," Jack babbled, happily.

"Daddy had a rough night," Tony mused. "I hope you never feel like this Jackson."

"Junior… you're up early," his father said, spotting his son and grandson.

"Jack woke me up," Tony said, shifting the baby into his high chair. "Figured I'd let Leah sleep."

Senior watched his son closely. "You got yourself a good woman there, son. I wanted to go to NCIS for her last night, but she insisted that she do it."

Tony found a jar of baby food for Jack and popped it open. "Think she was right. I know you're worried about me too, Dad—she knew I would only listen to her."

Jack reached for the spoon of peaches that was offered to him and shoved it in his mouth, making "mmmmm" sounds as he ate—something Tony had proudly taught him a few days ago. _Was that only a few days ago? Feels like a different life…_

It had been different life. Tony was happy, carefree, and content with his life. He had spent a lot of time during his recovery with Leah and Jack, taken it a bit easier at work until his doctors approved more active field work. The longest he had been away from Leah and the baby had been when he went to England and then Russia to work with Clayton. He suddenly hoped that Gibbs and McGee were treating Clayton well. Reeves was a good guy.

"Any idea what happened to Ziva?" Senior asked, interrupting his thoughts.

"She was killed in the explosion," Tony said, wincing. "She deserved better."

"Maybe she had found peace before she died," Senior offered. "Life is never fair."

Tony continued to feed Jack. No, life was brutal. Only the strongest seemed to survive and even then, it still managed to break the strongest people. "Life is cruel."

Senior glanced at his grandson. Jack had been the greatest joy for him. The baby had brought father and son closer together, they had finally made peace and were finally getting the relationship they should always have had. But his son's assessment that life was cruel was true.

Leah walked into the kitchen then, hair wild and tangled, rubbing her eyes. She found the pot of coffee that her father-in-law had started and poured herself a mug. "I cancelled my class for today. It was a final. I can administer it online."

"You didn't have to do that…"

"Anthony, it was a long night…"

"Okay. I won't argue with that."

"Are you going into work today?"

Tony ran his tongue over his dry lips. "Yes."

Leah looked worried.

"My head is clear, sweetheart. Get Kort, put him in jail, protect more people I care about from getting hurt."

"You should give yourself some time to mourn."

Tony finished feeding Jack, found a cloth and wiped the baby's face clean. "I can mourn once we have Kort. And then… who knows."

Leah and Senior were surprised by his response. "And then who knows what?" the young woman asked.

Tony got up from his seat and tossed the baby food jar into the sink. "Might be time to leave NCIS… I'm not sure I can keep doing this, Leah. Man can only take so much before he breaks."

She thought back to their conversation months ago, she had told Tony not to leave for her… it had to come from him. "Whatever you decide I'll support you," she assured him.

He moved across the kitchen and kissed her cheek, smiling at her sadly. "I know, sweetheart. I should get going…" he was interrupted by his phone ringing. Figuring it was Gibbs or McGee checking up on him, he answered right away, "I'm fine," he assured whoever was on the other end. "Oh, Director Vance, sir. Yes… I'm coming in…"

Leah saw a dark look come into Tony's eyes while he spoke with the Director of NCIS. "Kort?" she asked when Tony hung up.

Tony shook his head. "No, Director Vance requested that we both come into NCIS. The Director of Mossad wants to see us."

"Us?" Senior repeated. "As in you and Leah?"

"As in Leah and I," Tony said.

"Guess it's just you and me, sport," Senior said to Jack, smiling. "What should do today, huh?"

Leah looked at Tony anxiously. His eyes told her everything she needed to know. He was just as confused and nervous as she was, because from what he had told her, when Mossad showed up, nothing good came with them.

* * *

"Special Agent DiNozzo, Mrs. DiNozzo, thank you coming down to meet me," Orli Elbaz greeted when the couple stepped into Vance's office. "I am sorry we are meeting under such circumstances, Mrs. DiNozzo."

"I am sorry for your loss, Director," Leah said, politely, "Tony informed me that Ziva was a colleague."

Orli smiled, sadly at Tony. "We were friends."

Tony scoffed. "You? Friends? After what you did to her family?"

Leah closed her eyes. "Anthony," she scolded before Gibbs or Vance could.

"It is okay, Mrs. DiNozzo," Orli assured her. "Ziva and I had a chance to reconnect over these last three years. We made peace with our differences. Which is why I am here, Tony."

"For what?" Tony snapped. "Ziva and I haven't spoken in three years. I wasn't even sure where she was exactly. I had to send her necklace back through an old family friend."

Orli nodded her head. "I was there the day Schmeil brought that to her. She finally knew you were at rest… that you had moved forward because you wouldn't have sent it back to her otherwise."

Tony wasn't sure why this woman was here. "Why are you here, Orli? Ziva is dead… unless you brought us Trent Kort… I don't see why I've been summoned here."

Dark eyes flickered towards Leah and then back to Tony. "I am here for Ziva, she requested that if anything happen to her that I make sure everything was taken care of," Orli said.

"Everything?" Gibbs echoed. "What did she need you to take care of?"

"Ziva was not alone in that house," Orli said. "As I'm sure you are aware from the reports."

"Yeah, a back room didn't go up as quickly. Rescue workers were able to get the survivor out," Vance said, recalling the report he had received.

Orli moved past Tony and Leah, opening Vance's door. "The survivor was Ziva's daughter," she said, a social worker leading a two year old girl into the room. "Everyone, this is Tali."

Tony's heart leapt into his throat. The child was definitely Ziva's. She had her face and Ziva had always expressed a desire to name her daughter after her fallen sister. "Ziva wanted her to come to Washington? There's no one to take care of her in Israel?" _Her father. Where the hell is her father?_

Tali's eyes filled with uncertain tears seeing all the strangers. Leah wasn't sure what this little girl had to do with her—or Tony—but the mother inside of her hated to see the child upset. She reached into her purse and found lollipops that she kept which were always a favorite of her nieces and nephews. Kneeling down, she unwrapped the candy and held it out to the girl, smiling. "Hello, Tali."

"Where's her father?" Gibbs snapped, finally voicing the question on everyone's mind.

"Her father is you, Tony," Orli said, looking at a stricken man.

"Me?" Tony repeated. _It was one time! One time!_ But that's all it took…

"She assured me that it could only be you," Orli replied.

"Oh! Great! And she thought it was okay to never inform me?"

"It was something she wrestled with; ultimately when she got the necklace she knew what she had to do. You had a new life, a marriage, and then a son. She didn't want to complicate that with a child from the one time you spent together."

Tony's mouth hung open, slightly. That surreal feeling swept over him again. A daughter? How could Ziva do this to him? How could she possibly think he wouldn't want this little girl? "Excuse me, but that's a rather horrible excuse."

Leah picked Tali up and went to sit on the sofa with her, putting her on her lap and finding a board book in her bag that was Jack's favorite. She began to read to the little girl, trying to give her a sense of warmth when the adults around her were arguing over her future. Judging by the look on Tony's face he was not happy his wife was bonding with this child.

Gibbs didn't seem to like it either. "Have Abby run a DNA test to make sure," he said. "There's no sense uprooting your life, Tony, if she isn't your daughter."

The SFA scowled. More angry at Ziva than at the child; he glanced at the Director of NCIS, and then Gibbs. "Can my wife and I have a moment with Orli please?"

Vance nodded. "Sure. Take all the time you need. We'll have an agent take care of the girl."

Leah tightened her grip on Tali. "She's fine where she is."

Tony licked his lips. Looking at that child, he knew in his heart… she was his; just like the moment he had laid his eyes on Jack for the first time… He wasn't going to need Abby's fancy DNA test… "Tali can stay," he whispered. _Good luck getting her out of my wife's arms anyways…._

Vance and Gibbs silently left, closing the door. Tony paced, green eyes angry, sad, confused even. Orli gently laid a hand on his arm. "Ziva left a letter for you, Tony. I am sure it explains everything."

"Does it?" Tony questioned, hurt. "If I had known she was pregnant… I would have been there for her… I would have left this for her and the baby…"

"Which is why she didn't tell you," Orli answered. "Ziva cared for you, very much, Tony, but she knew that her love was not what you were looking for or needed."

"Fine," Tony snapped, "Why not tell me after Tali was born? Yes, I was engaged at that point, and yes I would have married my wife… but I would have welcomed Tali into my life… I would have offered support for Ziva…"

Orli sighed. "Ziva did not want to cause disruption. She felt that her entire life in Mossad was about tearing people apart, hurting people; she left because she didn't want to hurt people anymore. Informing you of Tali would have hurt you."

Tony's head was spinning. He hurt now! What was the difference? "She was never going to tell me, was she? She was going to let Tali grow up never knowing who her father was…"

Leah looked at the sweet little girl in her lap. She smiled, softly. All this little girl needed was love… a family… they _had_ a family. "She seems well adjusted."

"Ziva and Tali spent very little time at the farmhouse. She was immersed in our culture," Orli replied. "It was very important to Ziva that her daughter have a normal childhood."

"I was raised Catholic… but we'll do our best to honor her Jewish heritage," Leah said, rubbing the little girl's back.

"Hold on," Tony yelled on the verge of hysterics. "You make it sound like she's already a part of the family!"

Leah glared, slightly, her blue eyes narrowing. "Tony. She's your daughter. Where else is she going to go? Of course she's a part of the family."

Tony clenched his fists. _No no no, we spent so much time trying to move past Ziva…_ "If you recall, our relationship almost ended because I couldn't let Ziva go. Now you want us to take in her daughter?"

She continued to glare at him. "And yours. What was the one thing you told me the most when I was pregnant with Jack?"

He tightened his jaw. "I didn't want to be like my father."

"Well, you have a chance to not be your father," Leah snapped. "Don't abandon her because you're angry at her mother. It's not her fault."

"This will totally disrupt our life, Leah. And Jack? What about him?" Tony threw out, furiously.

"Jack is nine months old; she'll just be another child to him," Leah argued. "And she's Jack's sister… it's not fair to keep them from one another."

Tony finally thought the world had gone mad. Leah had no biological ties to this child and yet here she was arguing with him that Tali should come home with them. "This… this is so… screwed up."

Leah's eyes softened. "I know it is. But if something ever happened to me, I would hope that Jack would find another woman to fill the void, whether it was Abby or even a stepmother if you were get remarried. If Ziva did not want me taking her daughter in, she never would have instructed Director Elbaz to bring Tali here to D.C in the first place."

Orli, who had been watching silently up until that moment, handed Tony an envelope. "You should read Ziva's letter to you, Tony. It will answers all those questions that you have. And afterwards, if you do not want to take Tali—Ziva has an aunt in Israel that would be willing."

His fingers curled around the envelope. Leah was right. _Damn it, how does she do it?_ Tony thought, angrily. How did she know exactly the right words to say? To rein him in? Tim was right—Leah was the perfect compliment to him. Fire and ice, oil and water, but somehow it worked in this case. "My wife is right, Orli. Talk wouldn't be here if Ziva didn't want Leah having a hand in raising Tali, then she would have leftt the child to her aunt."

"Still, this is a rather huge undertaking for you and Leah," Orli pointed out. "If you think you need time to process it, I do not mind taking Tali for the evening."

"No," Tony said, softly. "Leah and I will be taking Tali home with us. She has a grandpa and a baby brother to meet."


	3. Doubts and Sacrifices

**Warnings:** Spoilers for "Family First"

 **A/N:** So once again reviews are not showing up on the site but I can read them through my email. Once it is fixed I promise I'll respond to you all :). I introduced Clayton Reeves into this verse because I have plans for him to take Dorney's place in future stories and the rewrite of "Hanging From Words". Right now I'm flip flopping between two possible ways that this story could go.

* * *

Leah opened the door to Jack's room. Her son, brown hair matted and sweaty, was sitting up in his crib—babbling away. He heard her footsteps on the hard wood floor and glanced up at her, smiling. "Hey little man," she said, reaching into the crib and lifting him out. "Papa says you had a nice nap."

Jack stuck his fingers in his mouth and continued to grin. "Mama," he cooed. He might only be nine months old, but he had started to imitate sounds—right now his only "words" were dada, mama, and papa…

"Mommy and Daddy had an interesting morning," Leah told the baby going to change him. "We always wanted you to have a sister, Jack… I just never thought… it would happen this way."

"But… she's family, regardless if she's _my_ daughter or not," the young woman continued. "She's yours and Daddy's family."

Little blue eyes sparkled at her. Leah felt her heart warm being with her son. She might have never met Ziva but she understood her reasoning for leaving Tali to Tony. It was a safe, stable home for the little girl, and Leah knew that they were doing the right thing by taking the child in… yet, she was frazzled.

Senior had talked about turning the room across the hall from Jack's into Tali's room and it hit her then—this changed everything. All their plans to have more kids—a daughter of their own—suddenly seemed dissolved. Swallowing some tears and a whimper, Leah finished changing Jack and snuggled her baby boy in her arms.

Downstairs, she found the unopened envelope with Ziva's letter. Tony had not worked up the courage to open it yet. He had come home with Leah and Tali, thrown it on the table, and then vanished back to NCIS again. She was concerned that he was reluctant to bond with his daughter—Vance had given him the opportunity to take some time off—Tony had outright refused.

"Put Tali in the playpen for a nap," the nanny, Amelia told her. "She's had a busy day."

"Did my father-in-law go home?" Leah asked.

"Yeah. He was pretty tired himself," Amelia said with a laugh.

Leah set the baby up in his high chair. _We need two of these now…_ more tears, more feeling like she did not have control of her life… and she leapt towards the cabinet to find something to feed Jack for lunch. She needed the normal, everyday routine of feeding her son to ground her.

Amelia must have seen her anxiousness. "Tony says that a DNA test is being done. What happens to her if it turns out she isn't his daughter?"

She sat down opposite of Jack and popped open a jar of peas. "I guess she goes back to Israel, but it sounds like Ziva was adamant Tony was the father."

"Maybe she was adamant because it was what she wanted to believe," Amelia offered.

"What do you mean?" Leah asked.

"She knew Tali would be safe here in Washington with Tony," Amelia stated, simply.

Leah wondered about this. Was that the case? Ziva wanted her child to be safe and she knew that Tony, believing Tali was his, would step up to the plate? She surely knew the child would be safe with her NCIS family… but Gibbs had reacted so… oddly to Tali. It was almost like he knew… "I guess I would lie to get my baby to safety."

Amelia started to put some dishes away. "She worked with NCIS for eight years, I would have thought she'd be aware that they'd run a paternity test."

"The Special Agent Gibbs she knew would have fought to keep that child—no matter who her father was—in the United States, where she was safe," Leah replied. "Ziva doesn't know what's going on with him now."

"Do you think he'll tell Tony to send her back to Israel if she isn't his?" Amelia inquired.

"You've seen Gibbs in the last month, you're a psychology major, you tell me," Leah said.

There was a knock on the back door. Leah looked up and saw Jimmy peeking inside. She waved to him, signaling that the door was unlocked. The medical examiner's assistant entered the house, carrying a large trash bag.

Jimmy grinned at Leah and Jack. "Breena found out about Tali and sent over all these clothes that were hand me downs from her sister that don't fit Victoria yet. She figured you could use them before us."

Leah smiled, sadly. "Thanks, Jimmy."

He could sense that she was troubled. "Are you okay, Leah?"

She sighed and shook her head. "No, everything is happening all at once."

"Want me to stay and help out for a while? Play with Jack so you can get some work done?"

"My finals are starting to pile up… if you don't have to be back at NCIS…"

Jimmy shook his head. "No. Actually, Director Vance requested that the team all pitch in and see what we can do to help you."

Leah appreciated Vance's support, but her gut was swirling that it wasn't Gibbs demanding it. "In that case, Jack would love to play with his Uncle Jimmy."

Jack, covered with peas, grinned. It certainly wasn't bothering him that his mother and father were being pulled in a thousand different directions—he was getting even more attention than normal—and since he was a DiNozzo, well… he was loving every minute of it.

* * *

Tim furiously rubbed his hands over his face trying to sort everything out. Ziva was dead, she had left behind a daughter—maybe Tony's daughter—and they were chasing after Kort.

He thought back to all those times he and Abby had speculated on Tony and Ziva's relationship, all the times they wondered if Tony would ever pick himself up after she had gone back to Israel… until Leah had come along. Shamefully, Tim had forgotten about Ziva as their lives shifted and changed.

And now she was dead.

Tim pushed back his emotions and stepped off the elevator. They were working around the clock to find Kort and the wear and tear of the job was starting to show on their faces. Especially Tony, who was doing his best to avoid Gibbs at all costs that afternoon.

Clayton Reeves had taken over Tony's desk—with the SFA's blessing of course. "Ellie and I think we might have found something."

"Really?" Tim asked. _Finally, a lead._

"We got to thinking that there's no way Kort could have left America," Ellie said. "We think he hired a hitman to kill Ziva."

"Sure enough we traced him back to an assassin," Reeves said, showing the man on the plasma screen. "I have some contacts in Mossad tracking him down."

Tim wasn't sure if this was the lead he was exactly looking for but it was a start. "Where's Tony?" he asked, nervously. His partner was spiraling out of control at the moment. Tim had never seen Tony this angry, this anxious, or this unsure. And Leah? Tony's rock through everything had to be feeling pressure now that Tali showed up.

Reeves glanced around and shrugged. "We haven't seen him in a few hours. Thought it best if we left the bloke alone. I mean… finding out you have a daughter…"

"Allegedly," Gibbs snarled as he strode into the bullpen. "Abby is running a paternity test."

"Would Ziva lie about who Tali's father is?" Ellie questioned.

"Yes," Tim and Gibbs said at the same time.

Reeves raised an eyebrow. "That answers that question."

Tim felt the need to defend Ziva's actions, he wasn't sure why, but he did. "Being MI-6 you have to understand what it's like to be a spy… she was the daughter of the former director, who had secrets and blackmailed and killed to make his way to the top. She knew her past could always come back to haunt her. She'd send Tali here to us to keep her safe."

Ellie glanced quickly at Gibbs. "And she would tell everyone involved that Tony was the father because it would be believable."

Gibbs scowled. "Yeah. It's believable. And maybe it won't matter when we do a paternity test… they might just decide to adopt her. Vance looked into her family… Ziva's aunt is up in years and Israel is a war zone. Can't imagine Leah is going to want to send that child back."

"We'd have to track down Tali's biological father if it isn't Tony," Tim said.

"Cross that bridge when we come to it," Gibbs answered.

Tim and Ellie looked at each other. When they come to it? The team leader was making it sound like he already knew that Tony wasn't Tali's father…

Tony arrived in the bullpen then, looking restless. "I'm going home," he informed the team, hoarsely. "I can't… I can't stay here right now."

The agents watched as Tony retrieved his badge and weapon from his desk, grabbed his backpack, and looked at them, tired. "Sorry," he whispered.

Ellie offered him a smile. "It's okay, Tony. We understand."

"Yeah," Tim supplied. "You're needed elsewhere."

"I'll keep your desk warm for you," Reeves teased him, grinning.

Tony laughed, a little, and nodded before heading back out. Tim made a mental note to check up on his best friend later.

* * *

"You're home early," Leah said when he arrived at the house.

"Couldn't stay," Tony answered, closing the door. He dropped his gear and went to pull her close. "I wanted to be with you. And truthfully, I have too much on my mind right now."

Leah wrapped her arms around his waist and snuggled closer to him. "We'll be okay, right?"

Tony kissed the top of her head, listening to Tali and Jack giggling at whatever silly stunt Jimmy was pulling in the playroom. "Yeah," he whispered, "we will be."

"My sister thinks we're crazy for taking her in," Leah whimpered.

"Your sister might be onto something," Tony confessed. "Abby and I had a serious discussion about it… I know I said I felt it in my heart that she was mine… but maybe I _want_ her to be mine to come to terms with Ziva's death."

She swallowed her tears. Certainly Tali had grounded Tony since he had learned of Ziva's passing. His rage was more controlled now, he wasn't tipping over the edge… "What are you going to do if she isn't yours?"

He sighed, heavily, feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders. "Abby and I spent a while discussing the possibilities of who her father could be if it wasn't me… and why Ziva would lie about it."

Leah pulled away and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "Well… we have some time to think this through. The results won't be back for a while."

Tony could see that she was beginning to crumble. "I'm sorry, Leah. I'm sorry that you were dragged into all this. You shouldn't be asked to raise another woman's child… not this way."

"Well, I have been asked, and I'm willing, okay?"

"I know you are."

"Do you want something to eat? I can make you a sandwich…"

"Leah…"

She looked at him, sheepishly. "What?"

He reached out and wiped the tears from her eyes. "I understand," he whispered, before kissing her. Their whole life plans had been altered in twenty four hours. She was sacrificing everything for him. "I understand, and I love you more for it."


	4. Yours, Mine, Ours

**Warnings:** Spoilers for "Family First"

 **A/N:** This is probably the heaviest chapter yet. This story has been quite a journey for me. Like I said I never had any intentions of writing anything to do with Tony's exit into the verse, but felt this desire to once I saw "Family First". Hope you like it.

* * *

Delilah had been away for three days in Los Angles at a conference and was thrown for a complete loop when her husband to be dropped his bombshell at the dinner table. "Ziva had a daughter? And it's Tony's?"

Tim served her some salad as they sat down to eat dinner. "Well… right now we're not sure she is Tony's daughter; Abby is running a paternity test to determine if he is."

"Wow, I never saw that one coming," Delilah confessed. "What does Leah think?"

"Leah was the one that urged Tony to take Tali home," Tim replied.

"Of course she did. Sometimes her heart is too good," the young woman snapped.

"Too good? What do you mean?" the NCIS agent questioned.

Delilah sighed. "Tony has a child with another woman. How would you feel if I had a child with another man that I never told you about?"

Tim scrunched his nose up. "You would never do that. And it's not like Tony purposefully kept it from Leah. He was never informed!"

"How did Gibbs react?"

"Odd. Like a robot… which… isn't him. He's always gun-ho."

"Maybe being shot last year mellowed him."

"Mellowed, more like made him emotionless."

Delilah had seen the distance that Gibbs was putting between himself and his team; even after Tony had nearly died a few months ago. "So, do you think Tali is Tony's daughter?"

Tim shrugged his shoulders. "I saw her. She looks so much like Ziva… it was hard to see anyone else in her…"

"Well," Delilah said, "it shouldn't be long before the paternity test will be back and you'll know the truth."

"Yeah," Tim sighed, angrily, "the truth… seems hard to come by these days."

"Are you angry at her?"

"Angry at who?"

"Ziva," Delilah replied.

"Well, yeah, a little," Tim snapped. "How could she think it was okay to keep a child from Tony?"

Delilah didn't know much about Ziva, only the things that Tim had told her, but she couldn't understand the decision to keep the baby from the man that had fathered her. "I don't know. You told me that she cut off communication with all of you to start anew, maybe by the time she realized what she had to do, she found out that Tony was engaged and didn't want to interfere."

Tim shook his head. "Tony would have done anything for her. If she thought this was best… she didn't know Tony at all."

"What's done is done, Tim."

"I know. It still sucks."

"Come on, let's eat dinner," Delilah urged him. "Afterwards we can call Tony and Leah, see if they need anything, okay?"

Tim sighed, and nodded. There was nothing else he could do at this point. Until the paternity test came back, until they had Kort; there was just nothing but questions when really, they all needed answers.

* * *

Tony stepped into the master bedroom after getting both Tali and Jack to sleep to hear sniffles coming from the master bathroom. "Leah?"

Immediately the sniffling stopped and Leah stepped out of the bathroom, forcing a smile on her face but unable to hide the fact that she'd been crying. "I was just washing my face," she lied.

"You don't have to be strong for me," Tony informed her. "Or for Jack. It's okay to cry."

"Crying in front of you isn't an option," Leah whimpered, her eyes filling with tears.

"Oh, sweetheart, it hasn't been just my life that has been turned upside down."

"I don't want you to hate me."

Tony shook his head. "Leah, I could never hate you. I'm asking a lot of you, in a short time, with no time to prepare. Two days ago we were the happy parents of a nine month old boy—our first child, our _only_ child. Now, we're the parents of a nine month old boy _and_ a two year old girl, or more specially I'm the father of a baby and a two year old—I'm just asking my wife to help raise that two year old."

Leah's chin warbled, a few tears escaped and ran down her pale cheeks. "I didn't realize how much I wanted us to have more kids until… until it was taken away. Your dad kept talking about making a bedroom into Tali's room—the room we wanted for _our_ daughter someday, but now… our daughter will never happen. I can raise Tali… but I'll never be her mother, she'll never truly be ours. But it's selfish of me to turn her away just because _I_ want to have my own daughter someday!"

His heart shattered into so many pieces, it hurt worse than when he found out Ziva had died in that fire… his beautiful, kind, loving wife felt guilty for daring to want something for herself. Tony opened his arms to her and she rushed at him, collapsing into a fit of sobs. He held her tightly, wishing that he could fix all of this, but the truth was, he couldn't. "Leah," he said, softly, "it's not selfish of you to still want those other kids… you had your dreams and I… I screwed them up."

"Please, please Tony, don't blame yourself for this," Leah cried. She didn't want him to feel guilty for how she was hurting. In time, they would all heal and Tali would fit in and perhaps everything would feel perfect. Right now, it felt… "You didn't know."

"But I should have," Tony angrily spat. "She had no right to keep Tali from me. Would it have changed anything? I don't know for certain. She might not have wanted me to come to Israel to be there for her… she might have kept me at a distance. And she certainly would not have wanted me to leave you…"

Leah closed her eyes, her tears staining his shirt as she mourned for a daughter that she might never have now.

Tony hated how he couldn't give her the world, that he had been the one to ruin her dreams even before they had met. _I ruin everything I touch… Wendy, Jeanne, Ziva… God, even my relationship with Gibbs has been ruined…_ "No," he said, suddenly, gripping her waist and pushing her away from him. "No, it doesn't have to be this way. So now we have _four_ kids instead of three. Tali, Jack, and two more of our own. We make it work, we fit her into our life, our dreams—and give her what Ziva needed her to have—a family. You deserve to have your three kids, Leah; you deserve to have the family life you envisioned…"

"Anthony…."

"Leah. Don't argue with me. I want us to have _our_ daughter. I want a little girl that looks like you; a little girl that follows her big sister and big brother around."

"I want her too," Leah whimpered.

Tony leaned forward and captured his wife's lips in a desperate kiss. He pulled away, with tears in his eyes and hugged her, tightly. "I love you, Leah."

Leah clung to his neck and cried into his shoulder. "I love you too, Anthony. For… for better or for worse."

"We're going to be okay," he promised her. _We need some time._

"I know," she whispered.

Gently he wiped her tears away and let go of her. He offered to go make her a cup of tea and then headed downstairs. When he passed the kitchen table he paused, catching sight of Ziva's letter. Frowning, he snatched the envelope up, sat down at the table and tore it open.

He pulled out a single lined piece of paper. Tony held the paper tightly, swallowing his emotions. In his hand he held the last bit of communication between them. He noticed the date at the top of the letter, shortly after he had seen Schmeil in New York City to return the necklace. Sending the necklace back had been the catalyst to keep Tali out of his life. It made him sick to his stomach.

 _Tony,_ the letter began, _I know you are angry with me. I know nothing I say will change that but I want you to know that I had the best intentions at heart for you and for Tali._

 _I have just spent the morning talking to Schmeil, when Tali would let me. She loves her Saba Schmeil. He tells me that he has recently seen you, that you look well, at peace finally. You have met the love of your life and will be getting married, starting a life together. As much as I would love for Tali to get to know her Aba… I do not want to disrupt the future you have a head of you. I do not want you to think you have to leave your new wife to be with us… because you do not. I did love you Tony, but I have let you go. You have done the same to me. Let us leave it at that._

Letting the paper fall to the table, Tony dropped his head into his hands for a second. He had let Ziva go the moment he realized his love for Leah, the moment she became his everything.

There was more to be read, he just wasn't sure he could to it. Tony glanced at the paper, recalling that Orli said it would help him understand. All he understood right now was that his world was tipping…. _get this over with,_ he told himself, grabbing the letter.

Ziva had written about Tali's likes and dislikes, how she may look like her mother but was more like her father… things that would help Tony get to know his daughter, because if he was reading this, it meant that something had happened to her and Orli had taken Tali to Washington. But then something rattled him… she talked about Leah.

 _Leah is a good woman, Tony,_ Ziva wrote, _she loves you, respects you and supports you; not always things that I did for you. I know that she will take Tali in and care for her, raise her, and teach her to be independent. She will help my daughter strive for the stars and never let her forget where she came from._

"How the hell do you know this?" Tony spat at letter. "God, Ziva, did you background check my wife?"

"Tony?" Leah's voice startled him. He glanced up to see her standing in the dining room with him. Her eyes drifted towards the letter and she bit down on her lip. "Is…is Tali yours?"

"Yes," he sighed, angrily, "apparently Miss David knew a lot about our life. Which, I find rather suspicious. Did she run background checks? Did she call someone at NCIS and they didn't inform me?"

Leah sat down at the table and folded her hands in her lap. "Gibbs. She called Gibbs."

Tony's head snapped up but then he laughed, sarcastically. "Of course she did."

Silence lingered between them, the air was heavy with anger on Tony's part, trepidation on Leah's… quietly she got up from the table and found a legal pad.

"What are you doing?" Tony asked.

"Making a list of everything we need for Tali," Leah replied.

 _I know she will take Tali in and take care of her, raise her…_ Tony felt his anger dissolving. Pushing all the despair away, he moved closer to his wife and helped her. For better or for worse then were in this—all hands on deck—together.

* * *

By morning, Tony was gone. He had gotten up early—if he had even gone to bed—and taken off for work.

Leah tackled her first morning alone with two kids. She made Tali breakfast and used some of her text books as a booster seat for the little girl so the child could eat at the kitchen table. Jack vocalized from his chair while his mother fed him his favorite cereal.

Tali was confused by the bowl of cheerios that were placed in front of her, she gobbled up the diced banana and enjoyed the apple juice. It was while she was eating that she caught sight of the photograph on the wall, hanging next to the breakfast nook. Standing up on the books, she stuck a pointed chubby finger out and proclaimed, "Aba!"

Looking over her shoulder, Leah saw it was a photograph of Tony and Tim at someone's birthday party years ago. She watched as Tali pointed to Tony once again and repeated, "Aba!"

It surprised Leah. The little girl had not called Tony anything since coming home with them. She had cried a great deal when her mother didn't show up, but Leah someone managed to comfort her every time. But then something came to mind—there was an old photograph, taken around the same time as the one on the wall, of Tony and Ziva in Tali's bag of things that had come with her. "Yes, Tali, that's Aba."

Tali turned and smiled at Leah. She crawled down and pointed to Leah, "Mama."

Leah's first response was to cry, _no,_ but to Tali, she was mama; it's what she heard Jack calling her all the time, and she would have called her biological mother ima. Already the child had differentiated that Leah and Ziva were two different woman that held a very similar purpose in her life.

"Mama," Tali said again, softly, unsure.

"Yes," Leah replied, smiling at her to reassure her.

Tali smiled and went back to eating her bananas.

Leah blinked back a few tears feeling an overwhelming feeling of affection wash over her for this little girl. She had been wrong—Tali wasn't just Tony'sdaughter, she was now _theirs._


	5. Time

**Warnings:** Spoilers for "Family First"

 **A/N:** I apologize, because I posted chapter four yesterday but for whatever reason the site did not bump it up to the first page, so some of you might have missed it. If that is the case, I'd suggest you go back and read chapter four first and then read this :)

* * *

"I know I was overseas for several months," Gareth Dawson said when he saw his sister, "but… when did you and Tony adopt?"

"Just a little over forty-eight hours ago—and it wasn't an adoption," Leah said, locking the brakes on the brand new double stroller she had purchased, "it was a surprise."

Gareth looked at his nephew sleeping in the back of the stroller, and then at the two year old half asleep in the front. "One hell of a surprise," he muttered. "I knew Tony liked to play the field before you got married… I didn't think he played it that hard."

Leah sat down at the small table outside of Starbucks. Her oldest brother, a marine Colonel now, had recently be assigned to the Pentagon—and she had requested to see him. "I need your help, Gareth. I don't know how I'm going to tell Mom and Dad about this. You know how Mom loves to keep up appearances."

"Just tell them the truth, Leah," Gareth told his baby sister. "Obviously Tony didn't know."

"No," Leah said, shaking her head. "No, he didn't and he only found out because her mother is dead."

He frowned, slightly. Gareth had stayed connected as much as possible with his family during his last stint overseas—he knew about Tony's brush with death, how long the recovery process had been—and now for this to literally be plopped in Tony and Leah's lap… "You seem calm for a woman who has just found out her husband has a child with another woman."

She shrugged her shoulders. Leah had accepted it because there was nothing else she could do. "He was with that woman before he met me. It's not like he cheated on me."

Gareth ordered some sodas for them from the waitress and waited until the college aged girl had walked away before saying, "Doesn't this make you worry?"

Leah pushed her hair out of her face and raised her chin. "No. I know that Tony loves me. I know that he loves Jack and Talia. His family is what is most important to him. He wouldn't do anything to jeopardize that."

"Well, if this is what you and Tony want to do—then I don't see how Mom and Dad can get upset," Gareth said.

"A lot people think I'm crazy," Leah confessed. "But I can't send her back to Israel or leave her fate up to the system. What kind of person would that make me, Gareth, if I turned her away?"

Gareth smiled. "You couldn't hurt a fly if you wanted too."

Leah bit down on her lower lip. _I killed a nineteen year not so long ago._ "Yeah, I guess."

Tali's eyes opened, she peered up into the sun at Leah and stretched her small body. A lazy smile spread across her face before she snuggled back in and fell asleep.

"If I were you, I'd invite Mom and Dad down for a weekend," Gareth said. "Once they see how she smiles at you… everything will be fine, Leah."

"I want her to spend time with her father," Leah said, coldly. "Tony… he isn't handling this well at all. He cared about her mother, but there's so much anger inside of him."

"He has every right to be angry."

"Of course he does. It could end up killing him though."

Gareth searched her eyes and saw the turmoil that she was going through. It was similar to his wife whenever he told her that he was going away. "Perhaps, the family needs to take a vacation, step away from Washington for a bit. Who knows, it might be what you all need."

Leah had never thought of the possibility, partially because Tony wouldn't rest until Kort had been found and dealt with. She might be able to convince him of going on vacation once the case was closed. "We haven't been up to Vermont in a while."

His cell phone rang. Gareth looked down at it and sighed, "Work. Let me go take this and I'll be right back."

She nodded and eased Jack out of the stroller. The nine month old fussed, hungry, and demanded to be fed. Leah reached into the diaper bag and found a bottle, unscrewed the cap and stuck the nipple into Jack's mouth. Eagerly the baby began to drink, his blue eyes wandering around the nice little place they had met up with his Uncle Gareth.

It was then, while she was busy feeding Jack, that Tali woke up and started to cry, probably wanting to be fed herself, wanting her mother, who really knew. Leah panicked and tried to rock the carriage back and forth a bit to calm her and in the process the bottle fell out of Jack's mouth and suddenly she had _two_ screaming children.

"Oh dear," an elderly woman at the next table said, "it sounds like they're both unhappy."

"I'm sorry," Leah sputtered, managing to get the bottle back into Jack's mouth. _I'm new at this!_

"It's alright," the lady said, noticing a stuffed animal on the ground. She picked it up and handed it to Tali. "I have four kids. Many times it was a struggle to keep them all happy at once."

Tali snatched her stuffed puppy from the lady's hand and hugged it. Her tears stopped and she calmed down. Leah thanked the elderly woman for helping. As she sat there now, with two quiet children, she realized how helpless they had made her feel. "Who knew you two had the power to bring me down," she whispered to them and even though she knew it was useless, she added, "and could you not do that again, thanks."

* * *

Tony was finding it increasingly more difficult to concentrate, especially when Abby had confirmed what he already knew—Tali was his daughter.

While he had come to terms with it last night, writing out that list of what they were going to need for Tali, it was obvious that other members of his team were struggling. Particularly one Leroy Jethro Gibbs. _Boss loves kids,_ Tony thought, feeling icy.

Gibbs had no problem bonding with Jack or Victoria Palmer. It seemed that he wanted to keep Tali at a distance. Well, that was something Tony now had in common with the team leader. He could get why Gibbs was upset with him, after all, he had broken a rule… but Tali? What rule had she broken at the age of two?

Ellie, who had no ties to Ziva, was showing more sympathy towards him than Gibbs.

"We might have a lead on Kort," Reeves announced, almost leaping into the bullpen with Monroe behind him. "And since he's killed former NCIS agents, MI-6 agents, and seriously injured a current FBI agent—we all have our fingers in the pie on this one. Shall we go get him ladies and gentlemen?"

Around him there was a flurry of activity. Tim and Ellie grabbed their weapons and badges, Gibbs chugged his coffee and threw the empty cup into the trash before getting his own gear; Reeves and Monroe waited eagerly for them. Tony, on the other hand sat motionless. _I just want to go home. I want to be with my kids, my wife—not here, not doing this._

Tim was the first one aware that Tony wasn't coming with them. He had been chomping at the bit to get Kort for the last forty-eight hours, and now suddenly, he wasn't moving from his spot, or making any indications that he was going to join them. "Tony?"

Tony's green eyes travelled up towards his team. Immediately the expression in Gibbs' changed. The former marine knew—Tony had been pushed to his breaking point. "I…I can't, boss. You understand…right?"

Gibbs understood it all too well. Ten years ago he'd been pushed to the breaking point and walked out of the bullpen for Mexico. "Yeah," he said, softly, "I do."

"I need to go home," Tony said, jumping to his feet and grabbing his things. "I should be there instead of hunting down Kort. Finding him isn't going to change anything—and me being the one to personally end him—it won't bring Ziva back."

"What are you going to do?" Tim asked, anxiety in his voice. _Are you going to leave us?_

"I'm going to trust that you guys are going to get Kort," Tony said, slinging his bag over his shoulder.

Gibbs could see that Tim wanted to argue with Tony. "McGee," he snapped. "Let's go."

Tim threw one more despondent look at Tony before heading into the elevator.

Tony looked around the bullpen one last time, gear in hand, he turned on his heel and headed up the stairs towards Vance's office.

Vance didn't look surprised to see him when he entered, but asked anyways, "Special Agent DiNozzo, you didn't want to go with the team to apprehend Kort?"

"No sir," Tony said with a shake of his head. He closed the door behind him. "Can I speak with you, sir?"

"Yes, of course," Vance said, eyebrows raised. "Is something on your mind?"

Tony sighed and put his bag down at his feet. "I know I haven't been back very long from my medical leave but my family needs me. I need time, sir, time that I'm not going to get if I'm running around catching bad guys."

Vance nodded. He had been expecting this. Tony hadn't been himself since the news of Ziva's death had broken. With the daughter showing up, it had thrown the already crumbling agent for a loop. "How much time do you think you need?"

"I don't know, sir," Tony answered honestly. "If you want me to resign, I understand."

"I think we can work something out with HR," Vance offered. "Hear you have a lot of comp time."

Tony felt a great weight lifting off his shoulders. "Thank you, sir. I appreciate it."

Vance smiled and nodded. "Do you want me to inform Agent GIbbs?"

"No, I'll let him know," the senior field agent responded. "I think he already has an idea…"

"Wouldn't be Gibbs if he didn't," the Director replied. He stood and shook Tony's hand. "Your desk will be waiting for you when you return."

Tony thanked him, promised to finish out the rest of the week, and quietly left the office. Fornell's doctor had informed Gibbs that the FBI agent had a long road to recovery. As Tony left the building that afternoon, he realized that he had a long road to recovery as well.

* * *

Tim parked his car out in front of the DiNozzos' house. He shut it down and sat there, listening to the peaceful sounds around him. Someone was mowing the lawn, children could be heard playing in the distance… it was so far removed from the current world he was living in.

Sighing, Tim got out and slammed his door shut. He made his way up the walk towards the elegant front door of Tony and Leah's home. The front door itself was open, revealing the house behind a pane of glass on a storm door. Tim reached out and knocked on that glass.

"McGee," Tony greeted, smiling as he unlocked the door and let his partner inside. "What brings you by?"

"Kort's dead," Tim announced, looking around the entranceway for the kids and Leah. "I think he was disappointed you didn't show up."

Tony licked his lips and shut the door behind Tim. "I had more important things to take care of. I knew that you and Gibbs and the others could handle Kort. Feels good knowing that I didn't give the slimy bastard what he wanted."

Tim looked at a photograph of Tony and Leah's wedding party on the wall. _We look happy._ "He told us it wasn't personal, but it was. It was Ziva, Tony. She was family! Our family!"

"He never regarded life," Tony said, directing Tim into the living room.

"Files, Tony! This was all over Eli David's blackmailing files!" Tim gasped, tears in his eyes.

"Files that are gone now," Tony answered, helping Tim sit down. "Probie? Are you okay?"

Tim shook his head. "No. First Kate, and then Gibbs walked out on us, Ziva left and is now gone—and now you're leaving too, the one person that I thought would always be there, annoying me!"

Tony laughed, softly. "It's not forever, Tim. Just a leave of absence. I think you can handle a few months without me. You did while I was recovering from my injuries."

He let out a shuddering breath. Tim had kept his emotions bottled up to solve the case, but now that the case was closed, everything was bubbling to the surface. "Why didn't she say good-bye to me?"

Confused about what he was talking about, Tony sat down next to his partner. "Why didn't who say good-bye to you, Tim?"

"Ziva."

"She didn't say good-bye to me until I found her at that farmhouse."

"You got a little more than a good-bye I'd say," Tim mumbled.

"Fair enough, that's true," Tony said with a chuckle.

Tim rubbed his hands over his face. He was tired and not just in the physical sense. It became clear why Tony was stepping away for some time. "Where's Tali?"

Tony gestured towards the kitchen. "Out back with Leah, my dad, and Jack on the swing set. Senior dropped by with pizza for dinner. Want some? There's a few slices left."

"I should get going," Tim said, "Delilah will be looking for me."

"Okay. Hey, Probie," Tony said, "Leah and I aren't going very far…"

"You'll be back in time for the wedding?"

"Yes. Of course."

"Then you can go as far away as you like." _After all, it's not about me… it's about you._


	6. Family First

**Warnings:** Spoilers for "Family First", long author's note ahead...

 **A/N:** Here is the final chapter. While Tali showing up was not how I would have handled Tony leaving the show, it worked for me. It gave me closure to something I didn't even know I was seeking. Before S10, I was neutral on Tony and Ziva getting together. I really could take it or leave it. While I stand by my belief that Tony and Ziva were never soulmates, they did share chemistry. Even up until "Shiva" the writers were actually trying to make the relationship an open, healthy one... but then they felt the need to regress Ziva. Do I think Ziva is still alive? I'm not sure, arguments could be made for both cases. However, unless CDP mends her fences with the show/CBS, I do not think we will ever get an answer to that. As for Tony, after all these years searching for family, he finally got it. Tali changed him (and Senior) for the better.

Hope you enjoyed my little variation on this finale and that you're not too upset that this alters the verse. "Someone Like You" will get a bit of a rewrite and become a stand alone Tony/Leah story not within this verse. Until I manage to rewrite the works, the original will stay up on the site for your reading pleasure :) **Thank you to all the readers that favorited or followed the story, and especially to those that took the time to review.**

* * *

It had gotten silent in the house. Leah wasn't so sure she liked that, especially now that they had a two year old—and a forty-something-year old man that liked to act like a kid at times.

Leah quickly got up from her desk and went to investigate. She found Tony in the playroom, sitting crossed-legged on the floor at the small table. He had a plastic tea cup in his hand, a plastic tiara on his head, and Tali was serving him "tea".

Tony sensed her presence and glanced up, a grin spreading across his face. "We're having a tea party. Do you want to join us? I think we have another tiara around here somewhere…"

"I think you have everything under control, your highness," Leah teased.

"She wanted me to be a princess," Tony responded.

Laughing softly, Leah stepped into the room and went to kiss the top of his head. "You make a very handsome princess," she said with a smile.

Grinning, Tony grabbed her hand and pressed his lips to her knuckles. "If you joined us, you'd be the prettiest princess if it was between you and me."

She let go of his hand and turned to go. "I'm still working on those finals. If we want to leave in a few days, they have to be graded and handed in to the Department Head."

He sipped his pretend tea and Tali giggled. "Well, before we broke for tea—Tali and I made sure all the bags were packed."

"Did you talk to Gibbs?" Leah inquired.

"No need too," Tony deflected. "He already knew my decision before he left to get Kort."

"Anthony, knowing and hearing it from you are two different things."

"I don't know how to talk to him anymore. He's like a zombie these days."

Leah had to ask, "Did you take this leave because of what's going on with Gibbs?"

Tony shook his head. "No. I took the leave for our family. We need a vacation."

She leaned against the door frame. "You cannot go on vacation without talking to Gibbs. It will only make things worse when you do go back to work."

He sighed and looked at Tali. "She's right—you'll find she's right most of the time," Tony informed the toddler. "Guess I should take my tiara off and take a ride over to Gibbs' house. He should be on his first bourbon of the night and getting ready to sand the boat."

Tali pointed a chubby finger at Leah. "Mama, tea?"

Tony's brow furrowed. "Mama?"

"She learned it from Jack."

"Guess you are her _mama_ now."

"Does that bother you?"

"No," Tony sighed. "I just wish she could have both of you in her life."

"We don't always get what we want," Leah said, sadly.

Tony stood up, pushing his hair back, aware for the first time since he had been in the hospital how long it had gotten. "All this death… it's senseless. Tim was by here earlier and he was right, this was all over some files. Files that could have been destroyed without Ziva and Tali being in the house."

Leah could imagine all the senseless death he had seen over the years working in law enforcement. He'd finally seen too much of it when it came to people he cared about dying. "Maybe she's at peace knowing that Tali has a chance for all the things she didn't have. She left Washington to find peace, didn't she?"

He nodded. "Wasn't like she got any."

She ran her tongue over her lips. "Perhaps, Tali was her peace."

Tony hoped that was the case. After all, Ziva had asked him to go back to Washington so he could find peace and he had found it in Leah. Crossing the space, ruffing Tali's hair along the way, he kissed his wife. "Don't wait up for me, bella."

Leah reached down and took his hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "I'm going to give Tali a bath and put her to bed… then finish grading. I'll be up when you get home."

"Depending on how _chatty_ Gibbs is, I might be home for bedtime," Tony mused.

"Make him talk, Tony," Leah said, firmly. "Otherwise, nothing is going to change."

His eyes grew sad, Tony kissed her cheek and let go of her hand, heading out to Gibbs' house.

She looked down at the smiling toddler at her feet. Leah knew a little Hebrew thanks to her professional background, but for the life of her she couldn't remember what _bath_ was. Shaking her head, she decided to scoop Tali up and head upstairs.

Jack was sound asleep for the night, having gotten his bath earlier in the evening. It was just Leah and Tali… oh and Kelav, her puppy. If Leah let her, Tali would probably bathe with the plushie.

* * *

Gibbs was where Tony suspected he would be—down in the basement working on his boat. For a few seconds the younger man wondered if he had wandered back in time and then he remembered why he was down here in the first place. He was leaving, for a while anyways, and he was leaving to take care of his family.

Tony placed his offering of a bottle of bourbon down onto the work bench. Over the years he found it was best to bring Gibbs' a peace offering if the talk you were about to have wasn't a particularly inviting one.

"I thought you were leaving?" Gibbs asked, eyeing the bourbon.

"In a few days. Have a few things to finish up before I go," Tony answered. "Are you mad?"

Gibbs shook his head and continued sanding. "You gotta do what you gotta do, DiNozzo. Your family needs you."

Tony watched his team leader work for a moment. "Leah and I need time."

"You've been handed quite the surprise," the former marine quipped.

"Surprise is an understatement," the senior field agent said.

Gibbs stopped sanding for a moment and reached for the bourbon. He poured them each a mason jar. "Never told me about Tali, when she called to ask about Leah. I thought she was thinking of coming home and… interfering with your wedding. I might not have been very warm and welcoming to her on the phone."

Tony ran his tongue over his lips. "Hope you at least went a little easy on her, boss. Of course, you didn't know she was checking in to make sure Leah was good enough to raise Tali— in the event of her death."

He swallowed his bourbon and poured another. Gibbs had been furious, silently, that Ziva hadn't bothered to disclose that information to him the night of her phone call. If she had, he would have told her that she needed to tell Tony about Tali. Tony deserved better than being informed the way he had been. "Didn't think Tali was yours because of it. I thought Ziva would have had the intuition to tell me that night."

Sipping his drink, Tony swirled the bourbon around in his glass before throwing back the rest. "She always marched to the beat of her own drum. Mossad ever going to give NCIS the report on the fire?"

"They wouldn't even give us access to the remains," Gibbs said. "We have to take their word for it."

"And do you, boss? Take their word for it?" Tony asked.

"Orli was correct about Tali being your daughter; guess I have too."

"Ziva wouldn't fake her death and abandon Tali. They would have disappeared together."

Gibbs felt the all too familiar sting of loss. When did this end? Certainly he had experienced more loss than was normal throughout the course of a lifetime. _She was a daughter to you._ He reached for the bourbon once more, gestured to see if Tony wanted another drink…

Tony shook his head. "Sorry, boss, I need to drive home. And I need to be up early in the morning... have a two year old and a nine month old now."

"Perks of fatherhood," Gibbs said. "You could taken the rest of this week, DiNozzo. We can handle without you."

"Hope Probe doesn't do a better job than me while I'm away," Tony joked. "I won't have a desk to come back too."

"Desk will be there. It's yours. You're just stepping away from it for the time being."

"I wish I didn't have too. I wish… things were different."

Gibbs didn't know what to say. In most cases when he found himself at a loss for words, he snapped a response, but Tony didn't need harsh words at this point. Reaching out he pulled Tony close to him and rubbed the back of his head, gently. "You take care of yourself, Tony, and your family. We'll be waiting for you."

* * *

No one wanted to talk about Tony's impending departure from NCIS. Even as he filed the paperwork and cleaned out his desk, it still was not talked about.

On Friday morning, Tony's last morning at NCIS before his leave, a printer paper box sat on his desk, filled with the contents of his drawers. On top was a photograph of Leah and Jack, peeking out from underneath, one of him with Kate. His _American Pie_ mug had gone to Palmer for safe keeping, his _Mighty Mouse_ stapler in the caring hands of Ducky. The letter opener that Ziva had so admired was now with Ellie.

As Tony prepared to go, he became aware that Tim and Ellie were hovering near his desk. He had told them throughout the remainder of the week that this wasn't good-bye. He was going to be back. He supposed it was the uncertainty of how long his hiatus was going to last that was upsetting them.

Tony stepped closer to Tim and offered him a smile. "So listen, I know you'll be taking on my responsibilities while I'm gone. I have five words for you: Very Special Agent Timothy McGee."

Tim laughed and engulfed his friend—his best friend—into a hug. "Can't believe I'm going to say this, but I'm going to miss you, Tony."

"I'm gonna miss you too, Tim," Tony confessed, pulling back. Blinking some tears back, he smiled at Ellie. "You keep growing and becoming the agent you were meant to be, alright?"

"Promise," Ellie said, with a smile before she hugged him tightly. "Take care of yourself, Tony."

Tony sighed and turned to grab his box of things. With a final glance at his partners, his team—his extended family—he turned on his heel and headed towards the elevator. He hit the button and stepped inside one final time for who knew how long. His heart didn't hurt or break like he thought it would. It felt like a weight was lifted off his shoulders and he felt at peace.

As the doors slid shut he caught sight of Reeves joining the team, eager and ready to help them, Gibbs gave his battle cry, and the doors shut in Tony's face. NCIS was going to go on without him while he tended to things but since marrying Leah, his new purpose in life had become family first.


End file.
